First of Too Many
by The FanFiction Club
Summary: A Doctor Who fan fiction in which the Doctor stumbles upon a (somewhat) failed Cyberman experiment that feels feelings... badly.
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya guys! So I know that T3nuous_Hai1 is currently taking a bit of a break from his story so I decided it was high time that someone else post a story on here! In case you're new here (and I think everyone is) there are several people who run this account but as of right now it's mostly T3nuous_Hai1 and I. Hopefully, more members of the FFC will start posting too!**

 **Annnyywwayy, I use the alias "badwolf253" and will always sign off these little author notes with a Doctor Who quote because I'm a DW nerd. As far as writing style, most of my stories have to do with Doctor Who (maybe some Undertale someday) and the chapters will be a bit shorter than T3nuous_Hai1's buutt it's fine. Also, if you don't like stories with OCs then you should probably just leave now because I have a bagillion of them.**

 **Which brings me to this story, First of Too Many. It's a Doctor Who fanfic and as far as timelines go, this story takes place sometime after season 7 Episode 12 "Nightmare in Silver" and (obviously) before the 11th Doctor regenerates. So far, there's no companion but maybe later? This also goes along with the idea that the Doctor still goes on adventures without his companions (because who needs sleep?)**

 **And just to get it out of the way, I don't own any characters from Doctor Who but I do own my OC. I think that just about covers it so without further adieu here's my story First of Too Many!**

 **Allons-y!**

 **-badwolf253**

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Doctor! That's all the psychic paper said. Just one word was all he needed to come. The Doctor plugged the psychic paper into the TARDIS and she seemed to understand the urgency. She rushed through the time vortex with tremendous speed, thrashing the Doctor around inside. The two got calls like this all the time but the TARDIS seemed to be in a rush to answer this one.

The TARDIS engine noise filled the dark, deserted metal halls and the Doctor stepped out, straightened his bow tie and smelt the cold metallic air. He closed the door behind him and turned on the flashlight he had pulled out of his pocket (they're bigger on the inside).

"Hello?" he called into the pitch black that surrounded him. There was no reply, only a small, far off whimper. Squinting, the Doctor progressed deeper down the hall. The hall opened up into a larger circular room and with a jerk he recognized where he was. This was a Cyberman ship! All of his hairs went on end. He paused and surveyed the area before progressing any farther. As far as he could tell the ship was already empty. There were no Cybermen, Cybermites or even Cybermats, just pieces of rubble here and there. After consideration he quickened his pace into the room. If there were Cybermen surely he would have woken them up by now. "Hello?!" he said louder. "Are you alright?" 'Of course not or else I wouldn't be here!' "Where are you? Here…" the Doctor held his sonic up to the ceiling and a few lights flickered on revealing the contents of the room. In the center was a large table with straps lying across it. The straps appeared to have been blasted apart as they were still golden with the heat of whatever had escaped its clutches. The Doctor paused and surveyed the area. There were several burn marks on the wall and several more piles of rubble on the ground. Something had certainly broken loose, something very powerful. He listened intently for either the someone or something he was trying to save or the thing that had escaped. There was a long silence but finally there was another small whimper from the far corner of the room behind a pile of broken glass and bricks. Behind the heap was a small girl, curled up into the fetal position. The Doctor immediately rushed to her aid.

"Please… Just go." she said weakly. To her dismay this made no difference to the Doctor who held a hand out to help her up. She was no older than 13 years old and obviously hadn't eaten in awhile. She had long black hair, tied up into a ponytail which made no difference in her bangs falling into her face. She squeaked and squirmed away from him, holding her hand and hiding her face. "Please don't hurt me!" she cried. The Doctor furrowed his brow.

"Why would I hurt you? I'm the Doctor, I'm here to help," he stood up and observed her. He scared her but why? Obviously this girl had been through alot and when she only contracted into a smaller ball he began to worry. "Alright…" he began, making sure his voice was calm and kind. "This is called a sonic screwdriver," he held the green and gold sonic in the air but he doubted she would look up to look at his gadget. "I promise it won't hurt, I'm just going to scan you to make sure your ok…" The Doctor began scanning her from head to toe but the buzz of the sonic seemed to have triggered the strange girl to move away at impressive speeds. She knew what it was and wanted nothing to do with it.

"No!" she yelled as she stood up and ran to the wall behind her but it was too late, the Doctor had already done a full body scan. She watched in horror as the Doctors facial expression went from concentration to sheer fright and worry.

"What? No, no that can't be right…" he muttered to himself. He turned the sonic around in his hand to make sure there was no glitch that could have caused the readings he had gotten. There were none. He slowly put the sonic back in his pocket before he began cautiously striding towards the girl. She had her eyes squeezed shut, afraid of what would happen next. "You-your- but you don't seem-" She had the Doctor dumbfounded and at a lost for words but she still knew what he meant. She nodded as she attempted to squeeze through the solid metal wall behind her. The Doctor was still coming closer and had her unintentionally cornered.

As he got closer the problem became visible. On the left side of her face there was circuiting and blinking lights strung up from her jawline to her forehead. Her right hand was completely metal and both of her feet had a striking resemblance to the the Cyberman boots. It all seemed to make much more sense. She was afraid of him because she was a Cyberplanner and he was the one who had stopped the Cybermen so many times he had lost count.

"P-p-please! Please please please d-don't hurt me!" She cried as grey oily tears began to stream down her cheeks. She had all kinds of data in her memory banks about what he had done and what he was capable of. This was the man she was supposed to delete put she was more afraid that he would delete her. "J-j-just go! Before I-I-I" her voice was quickly becoming strange and monotone. She suddenly lurched towards the Doctor, cyber-arm taking the lead. The Doctor jumped out of the way, nearly missing a repulsor beam that flew past his head. "NO!" she screamed and threw herself down on the ground to prevent her from doing any more damage. Her head hit the ground with a loud thud and everything went dark.

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 **So there ya have it, chapter one of my first ever posted fanfic. I plan on updating this every month, so I'll see you guys in May! Until then, feel free to leave comments and suggestions, I'd love to hear your guy's feedback -**

 **Don't eat pears,**

 **-badwolf253**


	2. Chapter 2

**As promised, here's chapter two! Also, just so you know, I really appreciate all the views, all 35 of ya!**

 _ **Always take a banana to a party**_

 _ **-badwolf253**_

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The next time the girl woke, it was to a foreign humming noise. It certainly wasn't the hum of any Cyber-tech, this hum was much more soothing. As she forcefully pulled herself back from unconsciousness she became fully aware of the searing pain piercing the left side of her face.

"Ugh," she groaned as she began to stir. Her eyes slowly opened. She had to blink a few times before the word came into full focus. She was in a bed, and not one like the ones the Cybermen had. It was a normal, comfy, human bed. The bed, as far as she could tell, was in a nice neat room. The walls were white with only a few pictures of stars and planets on them. Next to the bed was a bedside table along with a chair and across the room was a desk. Her eyes hurt so instead of investigating the room further she turned her head and began to stare up at the ceiling.

She wished that she could be as simple as the ceiling above her. No secrets, no regrets, no complications, just what it was. A ceiling. But not her, she had plenty of secrets, too many regrets and everything was always complicated. Even now she was sickened by the constant stream of numbers flashing and changing in the back of her mind.

Reality slowly started to sink in. The memory of the last couple of hours slowly started to come back to her. This was nothing new, it usually took a few minutes for her systems to reboot. She had been in the Cybership not that long ago, but there was another ship. An imperial ship that had plans on destroying her ship. No, it wasn't her ship, but it was the closest thing she had ever had to a home -even if she was a prisoner- so she wasn't too keen on having soldiers storm in and try to blow it up. She had tried to get them to go away but they had tried to shoot her upon realizing she was a Cyber-planner. At which point she panicked and must have called the Doctor, because soon after the soldiers ruined the ship and both parties left -leaving her behind- the Doctor arrived.

The opening of a door broke the silence and startled her, making her jump. The Doctors smiling face shone through the open door. He had a plate of Jammie Dodgers in his hand and seemed determined to make a good impression.

"I'm glad to see you're awake. You had me worried," He set the plate on the nightstand and sat in the chair next to it. The girl eyed him and his cookies fearfully and didn't dare move. To her it felt like some sort of sick, twisted trap. The Doctor sighed and rubbed his head, at the same time moving his floppy brown hair out of the way so she could see the sincerity in his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry if I scared you before. I promise, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to _help._ "

The girl looked into his eyes and he looked into her's. His eyes were so old compared to the rest of his body and they were so… _sad._ Like he no longer wanted to bare the weight of the things he had seen. Her eyes were sad to. Hurt and depressed. Anyone who looked at the two pairs of eyes, only looking at the surface, would see her eyes were a colorless grey, like they had given up hope of ever seeing the light again. While his eyes were a bright green and still had hope, or at the very least longed for it. They both looked away, unable to fully comprehend what they had seen.

There was a long silence in which both of them looked down at their feet. Finally the Doctor had the wit to say something. He got up from his chair and knelt down next to the bed so that he was at her height. He could see the small lights blinking on her face, her Cyber-hand resting beside her and how her feet looked to big and clunky for a girl her age. He opened his mouth to speak. He had an entire speech planned about how she could move past what the Cybermen had done to her and how the thing on her face didn't define her as a person. But what came out was just what needed to be said. "I am so, so sorry."

Oily tears once again filled the girl's eyes. She began to sway with the weight of all the emotions bubbling up inside her. Of course she wanted help, she just never thought that someone like him would take the time to actually stop and offer it.

The Doctor watched her in astonishment as her glassy tears began to fall. He didn't know Cybermen could cry. Though there had been some rare occurrences...He noticed her becoming more distant and week, after all she probably wasn't originally programmed to feel these feeling. Compassion overwhelmed the Doctor and he found himself sitting on her bed side, catching her in one of her swaying cycles and pulling her into a hug. She froze, unsure of what was happening but she didn't move away.

"W-wha?" she said through her sobs. The Doctor didn't reply, he moved her a bit closer and guided her head onto his shoulder. The perfect position for a good cry. ' _What is this?'_ This- whatever it was- was so unfamiliar she found herself at a loss for words. But deep down, where the cyberplanner had not yet corrupted, there was a small voice. ' _This is a hug. Hugs are good,'_ it told her softly.

Finally she gave into all the feelings. She let herself be completely controlled by natural instincts. Not the ones the Cybermen had given her, but the little human instincts she had left. They told her to embrace it, and she did. She eased into the hug and her muscles loosened. She gave a small squeeze in return for the comfort the Doctor had given her.

He allowed her to cry on his shoulder while he gently rubbed her back. He would stay like this with her for as long as it took for his patient to be happy.

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 **A chapter in which we see both sides revert back to their natural, and long forgotten, instincts.**

 _ **Bowties are cool.**_

 **-badwolf253**


	3. Chapter 3

**Daaanng badwolf253! Back at it again with the fanfiction! Wait what? That's a dead meme? Ok I'll leave now XD Cringy intros aside, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it's been my favorite to write so far. It's also a bit longer so achievement unlocked!**

 _ **And five, very important five. Don't let me eat pears, I HATE pears.**_

 **-badwolf253**

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After a while the girl finally pulled away from the embrace and began wiping her tears on her own fleshy human arm. The hugs left the Doctor with an oil stain on his shoulder but he didn't care. He had plenty tweed jackets, not to mention the TARDIS had an exceptional washing machine.

"S-Sorry, I don't know w-what came over me. I guess I just...um…" she didn't know how to describe what was going on inside of her. These were feelings but what did they mean? What should she do with them?

"You were scared and sad, there's nothing wrong with that." The Doctor offered a smile. "Now, how about we start over. You forget what you think you know about me and I'll forget about what I think I know about you. A fresh start. I'll introduce myself and then you can introduce yourself." The girl nodded. No one had ever given her the chance to make her own first impression. they were always made for her.

"Alright, I'll go first!" he said excitedly and stood up, beaming. She followed suit, though she looked more nervous than happy. "My names the Doctor, I like traveling through time and space with my friends in my TARDIS. Oh, and I like fishsticks and custard!" he remarked enthusiastically, holding his hand out for her to shake.

She flinched. Why was he holding his hand out? The girl looked at his hand and then to her own. One was normal, like you'd expect. The other was a cold, lifeless, grey, metal prosthetic limb. Inside her memory banks she had a file on human editcut. She sometimes enjoyed looking through them while she was in Cybermen captivity. According to her files, this was a "handshake". She shyly shook his hand, still unsure of him and herself. Why was he being so nice to her? According to everything she knew, she was his natural enemy. The doctor noticed her hesitation.

"I know you're a Cyberplanner but, you're different from the ones I met in the past," he narrowed his eyes slightly, pondering her existence. "Lets just start with your name," the Doctor urged her gently.

"Um, my name is… Uh," she mumbled. In an effort to avoid eye contact she stared at her feet and came to a sudden realization. "I don't think I have one," she said, looking up, pondering this new thought. She seemed extremely frustrated by this. How could she not have known? The Cybermen just called her 'Experiment 1502', but that didn't sound like any respectable name.

"What do you want to be called? I mean, you don't think "Doctor" is my _real_ name do you? I just chose it for myself," the Doctor offered his advice, shrugging off his own name difficulties.

"I-I don't know. I never really thought about it…" She didn't even know where to start when it came to names.

They each began running names through their heads. Mackenzie? Aliah? Therese? Bell? No, they didn't sound right. The Doctor was mumbling various names under his breath when the nameless girl finally spoke up. "What about Paige?".

"Paige?" The Doctor smiled, "I think that's a lovely name. Now Paige, tell me a bit about yourself," the Doctor said and crossed his arms, smiling expectantly.

"Uh, W-well-" Paige wasn't really sure where to start. She shifted uncomfortably and looked across the room, once again unable to make eye contact with the Doctor. "I don't really remember a lot but… The Cyberman, they called me 'Experiment 1502'. I don't really know what they wanted to figure out but, it… hurt, a lot. Uh, sorry, I'm not very good at explaining it," she trailed off and her thoughts began to go fuzzy, she had no idea what to say.

"It's alright, you don't have to explain all that to me now. We can get back to that later. I mostly want to know what was going on when I got there. Why did the Cybermen leave you? Or," his eyes narrowed suspiciously, "did something else happen to them?" his voice was deeper and hinted at something much darker.

"I-uh, don't think I did anything I just," she gulped, realizing that that probably didn't make her sound any more innocent, "well, a ship invaded and it gave me a chance to escape. I think the Cybermen were in the middle of an experiment because I'm not always l-l-li-k-k-ke," she began shaking violently and stammering out of control and it became evident that she was no longer breathing. The Doctor reached out his hand in an effort to help but she shook her head and took a step back.

"Paige!" he exclaimed as he took his sonic screwdriver and flicked it open. It lit up and flashed for a few seconds before Paige was once again able to breath. She reached her lungs and took a deep breath in, the color once again coming back to her face already pale face.

"-This," she finished as if nothing had happened, exasperated. She looked down at the floor, now realising what had gone down, that he had _saved_ her. But why? Why would someone like him help someone like her? Why didn't he just let her die? It would have been easier for the both of them if he hadn't done anything. What if the Doctor had alternative motives for saving her? What if he just wanted to use her like the Cybermen? Or maybe he was just waiting till the time was right to delete her? All these thought began to overwhelm her. Her trust was beginning to diminish. She looked straight into the Doctor's eyes and shook her head. "This isn't right, I shouldn't be here… Especially not with you. You're-you're the Doctor and I'm supposed to- you're supposed to-"

"Not like you?" the Doctor interrupted before she could get too far ahead of herself. "I'm supposed to want to 'delete' you? Is that what the Cybermen put in your head? I'm not like _them_. I don't make mindless decisions based on what someone looks like. Paige, I know you're different and I want to help you. It's as simple as that," he said softly, however, the honesty in the Doctor's voice was lost in the dark depths of Paiges mind.

"No. It's never that simple." she couldn't possibly understand simple things like compassion and friendship, she wasn't supposed to. The side of her head, the one that had been corrupted and controlled, told her that this wasn't right and that she was in danger. She needed to get out and for once her human side was in agreement. She didn't, couldn't and wouldn't trust this, not yet anyway.

She quickly turned around and made a break for the door. She was surprised when the Doctor did nothing to stop her. Her hand touched the smooth door knob and without a second thought she flung the door open and ran out of the room before she cold take in what she was seeing. Paige only had to make a few turns before her matel feat skidded to a halt.

The scene before her was one that members of Cyber-kind had hardly seen before, one that wasn't even in the databanks provided for any Cybermen. What paige saw in front of her was a grand room, lined with circles behind a balcony from which one could get a spectacular view of what really caught Paige's attention. The TARDIS console. A magnificent pentagonal shape filled with all sorts of buttons and switches surrounding a large central tube that glowed a warm welcoming orange. "I'm in the TARDIS," Paige gasped as she took in the sight.

"Yes, well it was going to be a surprise but I suppose you were going to find out anyway so," the Doctor said, his voice filled with a childlike air and happiness one gets when showing something off, not for the pleasure of himself but for the observer. "Now, young Paige you're left with choice." he flew past her towards the console as he was saying this. "You can go back to where I found you, live whatever boring life you want to down in that dump, or," he switched a switch on the TARDIS interface which made the room light up with whimsical sounds and lights, "you can come with me, explore the galaxy, see the stars, go on an adventure. What do ya say?" he held out his hands and wiggled his finger enticingly. He had that expectant look on his face, one that made it clear that he knew what she wanted to do. How did he know what she wanted more than she did?

She, once again looked into his excited eyes and for the first time in a long time something new dawned on her. He wasn't doing this for his own sake or happiness, he was giving her a chance. A chance to live her own life, figure out who she is and who she wants to be. And so, she went against everything her head said and instead went with what her heart was telling her. Despite the small voice it had, just this once she let it influence her and lead her to a decision she knew would ultimately change her life forever. _She said "Yes."_

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 ** _Yayyyy finally getting to the main plot! With Paige as the Doctor's new companion, many a shenanigans are sure to ensue! Find out what kind of adventures and probably trouble the new pair will get up to next month! Speaking of next month, it'll be summer break by then so we'll have to wait and see how that changes the upload schedule. As of now I have no idea what I'll be doing over the summer. Maybe I'll get to upload chapters more often? Lol I'm making you guys wait for everything aren't I?_**

 ** _Never eat pears, they're too squishy_**

 **-badwolf253**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! Boy I thought that since school's out I would be done procrastinating but NOPE. I got this done last night and just finished editing it this evening. So if there's anything I missed let me know so I can fix it! Hopefully this doesn't happen again but I'm gonna be pretty busy this month so we'll see. If I don't have any time to write would you guys be interested in a Q and A thing? You could ask me stuff or my characters I don't care, I could also upload a one shot or something I've written in the past. I just want to be able to give you guys something rather than nothing. Send me a review and let me know what you think please! At the very least if I ever forget or don't have time to update I'll post a temporary update of some kind so you know I didn't die or something XD Lol I hope your summer is shaping up to be less busy than mine!**

 _ **It's all a bit... wibbly wobbly**_

 _ **-badwolf253**_

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The TARDIS's wheezing echoed across the winter landscape, the light on top becoming brighter and brighter as the rest of the blue box pulled itself into existence. There now was a blue dot on the otherwise perfectly white, frozen planet. The door creaked open and a small girl nervously stepped out, only to fall chest deep into the fluffy snow. Paige looked at her predicament and then back up into the TARDIS doorway at the Doctor, a questioning look in her grey puppy dog like eyes. The Doctor looked back at her and chuckled.

"I probably should have mentioned this before I made you go out first, but Delta Rekonda 3 is approximately 73% snow and ice so, you might need these," He held up a pair of blue snowshoes. Paige looked at them blankly, still stuck in the snow. "They're snowshoes!" he said excitedly, "plus, they double as skis, ice skates and a snowboard!" Paige continued to look at him, wondering if he would help her up or if she would have to ask. After a moment the Doctor blinked and began to bend down and grab Paige by the arms. "Ah, right, sorry."

"It's alright," she said quietly, still not used to human (or rather Time Lord) contact. Once safely in the TARDIS doorway she brushed the snow off of the snow gear the Doctor had lent her from his extensive wardrobe. It was strange to look down and see cloths other than her own worn grey T-shirt and slacks, which she had worn for as long as she could remember. Now she was sporting a large puffy blue winter coat along with white snow pants. She would have been wearing snow boots but she couldn't find any that fit comfortably over her already boot-like feet. It didn't matter anyway, she had no feeling in them.

The only thing that the Doctor was wearing that alluded to their up and coming snow adventure were his snowshoes, gloves and a stocking cap. Paige thought this was strange considering how much he had insisted on _her_ wearing warm clothes. Perhaps Time Lords were less sensitive to the cold?

After fumbling with the snowshoes, Paige stood up and put on her hat and gloves. It was then that she realized that with all this clothing, she almost looked like a normal human being. The thought was intimidating. She looked at the Doctor who was more than ready to jump into the snow. He looked at her too but as soon as they made eye contacts they immediately looked back out into the snow. Paige began to fidget with her gloves in an effort to avoid his eye.

"You don't have to be nervous," the Doctor finally said, "there shouldn't be any people around for a couple miles. In fact, this land is an animal reserve so there definitely shouldn't be anybody around."

"If this is an animal reserve then shouldn't _we_ not be here?" Paige said dryly, partially expecting such rule breaking from him.

"Don't be so negative," he said jokingly, "besides, I know the supervisor so it'll be fine." The Doctor looked over at Paige who was still standing in the doorway, her hand in her pockets looking out on the landscape. "Come on then!" he said impatiently while stepping out into the snow. "There's a nice pond just down the way that I think you'd like!" He pointed off into the distance where the pine trees parted. If Paige had her say in things, she would have just stayed in the TARDIS but the Doctor was already walking away and she didn't exactly want to be alone. Especially not in the TARDIS. As amazing as it was to be in there, she made strange noises and the lights were too bright. The Doctor said that the TARDIS was like a cat and that she just hadn't gotten used to her yet. By 'her' she of course knew he meant her Cybertech counterpart. Nevertheless, she followed, closing the TARDIS door behind her and stepping out into the beautiful white snow.

During the duo's walk through the winter wonderland, Paige's mind was buzzing. _**This is a waste of time.**_ _But the scenery is nice!_ _ **We're not here for pleasantries. Especially not with**_ _ **him**_ _ **.**_ _He hasn't done anything._ _ **Yet.**_ _I don't think he will._ _ **Think isn't exact. Think isn't 100% sure and 100% sure is what we need to ensure our survival.**_ These thought was constantly in the back of her mind as she walked quietly next to him across the white sparkly snow.

After a few minutes of walking and observing her snow shoes crunch the snow under her feet she realized that they were about to arrive at their destination. A clearing soon came into view, lined with small snowy fern like trees with large burgundy flowers littered across every other branch. In the center of the clearing there was a frozen pond. Once Paige had walked closer, it was evident why the Doctor had taken such a liking to it. Though the ice was obviously thick enough to hold one's weight, it was clear enough to look through and see exotic fish of all colors, shapes and sizes swimming peacefully without a care in the world.

Paige stopped at the edge of the pond, watching the fish swim around and go about their business. It was calming to watch these serene creatures interact with each other in a manner as to not disturb the peace that was uploaded in their underwater kingdom. The Doctor stood behind her, looking over her shoulder, glad that she was happy- even if it was in her own weird, quiet way.

"Enough standing around!" the Doctor said, a bit too loudly, startling Paige and making her jump a bit. Red flashing lights went off in her head, her eyes widened and muscles tensed before relaxing once again. _It's fine, it was just the Doctor._ _ **Just the Doctor?**_ Never in a million years would she had thought she would be thinking those words. "C'mon then!" he said, oblivious to the external shock he had caused his friend. He bent down and pressed a silver button on the side of each of his snowshoes. The shoes began to mechanically reconfigure themselves. The metal that was once spread around it to keep it above the snow was now condensed below the sole into a silver blade; ice skates.

Paige followed suit, watching as the metal shift into place. The Doctor, who was already gliding on the ice, smiled back at her and held his two thumbs up in the air. _What was that supposed to mean?_ _ **These primitive human hand gestures are confusing and unnecessary**_ **.** _Hush, I think it was a good thing._

She watched the Doctor for a moment. He certainly wasn't an expert skater. Every once in awhile he would lose his balance and wobble a bit, but it was obvious he had much more experience than she did. Paige held her arms out to better her balance and slowly stepped from the snow to the ice. She watched in wonder as the fish and marine life below her moved in and out of her silhouette and under her feet, causing the brightly colored coral and seaweed to swish and reveal yet another layer of wildlife. Small red and blue crabs and other crustaceans lined the coral walls, hiding in the small holes, nooks and crannies. It was a wonder to think that such a beautiful and complex ecosystem was mere inches away from her, yet untouched by the outside world.

This awe struck sensation only lasted a few seconds, Paige quickly lost her balance and toppled to the ground. She tried to stand up and regain the little dignity she had left but was unable to get any proper footing. After exerting quite a bit of energy slipping and sliding, the Doctor noticed her, much to Paige's dismay.

"Those first couple steps are always the hardest, aren't they?" he remarked as he helped her up. "I can help teach you how to do it if you want."

"No, I think it got it," Paige mumbled as she took a few gliding steps forward. Despite her best efforts to show independence she was only able to make it a few paces before she hit a rough spot and fell again.

"You know, it's ok to ask for help. This is the first time you've ever done this after all and if you keep traveling with me, this won't be the first first," the Doctor said a bit frustrated. He took her hand but this time didn't let go, guiding Paige along the ice to help her keep balance.

"Sorry," she mumbled begrudgingly. They worked like this for a little bit. The Doctor guiding her along the ice, trying to keep her away from rough patches and Paige concentrating on her balance, still not sure how she felt about all this contact.

"Good!" the Doctor exclaimed as they made it all the way around the pond without any slip-ups (pun intended). "I think you're ready to give it a go by yourself!" he said as he let go before Paige could protest.

"Wait no-" Too late, she was already gliding away from the Doctor, but she didn't fall. She stepped out and glided a few paces buy herself and looked back at him in astonishment at her own achievement. He grinned widely as she skated out into the middle of the pond by herself. She wasn't exactly the most graceful skater but she sure did learn quickly.

Paige couldn't believe it, she actually learned something new without it being fed straight into her memory banks! Little things like this gave her reassurance that her human functionalities were still working… well properly wouldn't be the right word but they were there and that was a start. She couldn't even remember the last time she had-

Paige's feet met the cold hard ice as something beneath her rocked the whole pond. A dark figure swam towards her, quickly accelerating as it made a final lurch up, breaking the ice and flying into the air. Paige struggled to get to her feet but instead settled for her knees as she fell into an immense shadow. Above her, now airborne, was a large, fleshy, slimy whale-like creature with two protruding tusks, a large horn and several rows of sharp teeth. It flailed in the air and Paige panicked. She did the one thing the Cybermen had programmed her to do. She shot it. Paige let out a gasp, her eyes wide as smoke wafted off of her singed glove.

"Paige NO!" the Doctor shouted but it was too late. The massive beast let out an earsplitting shriek as it fell back to the ice, shattering the pond's icy surface and sending Paige flying into the frozen water.

Her new fluffy snow gear was now like a heavy anchor as she sunk farther away from the light glittery surface. She tried to swim but the hypothermia was already setting in and she could barely move. Her metal prosthetic contracted on contact with the cold water and caused excruciating pain in her wrists, ankles and face. Her lungs became tighter as bubbles tricked up to where she could see the Doctor running towards the hole, watching her sink like a rock. With her last breath she yelled through the sub zero water,

"Doctor help!" It echoed through the water but never made it to anyone's ear.

* * *

 **WELL THERE YA GO I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY**

 **But seriously let me know what you think my backup plan should be if I ever don't have time to write a full chapter.**

 _ **Hermits united**_

 **-badwolf253**


End file.
